The Czech Republic has always had its place in the pro peloton as far as accomplished riders are concerned, but over the years, the country has become more and more of a hotbed for cutting-edge, state-of-the-art bikes as well – especially ones of the carbon persuasion.
Duratec adds itself to the list with it’s new Phantom road frame, which not only tips the scales in terms of feathery lightweight, but also boasts some of the most sophisticated in-house fabrication we’ve come across as of late.
According to Duratec, a combination of ultra high end materials, alongside an innovative fabrication process, yields one of the very few wholly monocoque frame designs – that relies upon no joints.
Indeed, the process results in frame that’s of a single piece construction, including the dropouts, which are formed and hardened jointly with the rest of the frame in a single step.
Using no fewer than 400 sheets of carbon of various modulus, the fabrication process involves the careful arrangement of each piece in accordance with the direction of carbon fiber itself, in order to ensure optimum strength and compliance in key areas.
Duratec, says, “the aim is to ensure that in the places of the greatest stress the fiber is uninterrupted, so its mechanical properties are utilized to the fullest. In this way we attain limit parameters amongst rigidity, strength and weight of the monocoque.”
‘The frame is made without a single metal component, and it contains 100% carbon fibers; the design solution makes it possible to fit the bearings directly into the frame (headset and bottom bracket). In the places most subject to wear we have used 3K Twill fibre and 1K fabric, which protect the lower layers of high-rigidity and high-strength fibre from being pulled out.”
“The high strength and high modulus fibers embedded in nanoalloy resin with a technically perfect design solution achieves the highest possible strength parameters at very low weight. Torsional headtube stiffness of 143Nm/deg/kg and torsional stiffness near bottom bracket 68N/mm offers nearly 100% transmission of energy expended to acceleration.”
We could go on at length about the technical properties that go into the making the Phantom frameset, but suffice to say, in an industry that relies heavily upon out-sourcing for its production, it’s both exciting and refreshing to see homogeneity and craftsmanship remain as one.
You can learn more about the Phantom frameset by visiting Duratec’s site here.
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